Immortal Refiner

In the ravine, Li Qing used his spiritual sense to track the group of mortals, following closely behind them as they ventured deeper into the forest.

Before long, formation flags were erected around the ravine’s perimeter, anchoring key positions within the area.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Next, precious formation spirit materials were hurled out, landing at designated points within the forming formation, creating Formation Cores.

Li Qing, hidden within the ravine, immediately sensed the changes in his surroundings.

”Someone’s setting up a formation?” Li Qing’s expression shifted slightly, his mood fluctuating.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth was completely locked down, and the terrain was fixed—this was a trap-and-kill formation.

”The Lu Clan immortals must be preparing to deal with the demon beast in the ravine. Judging by the formation’s scale, the target must be a Second-Tier Demonic Beast.”

Li Qing stood still, observing for a while longer, but no immortals entered the forest. The woods remained eerily silent, save for the movements of the mortals ahead.

”Are they planning to use these mortals as bait to lure out the demon beast? They’ve even set up a formation, yet they’re unwilling to take even this small risk? The Lu Clan’s caution is truly remarkable.”

Realizing this, Li Qing decided to remain hidden.

Li Qing’s aura had completely retracted, making him nearly impossible to detect even within the formation.

However, since he had fallen into the enemy’s encirclement, Li Qing took extra precautions. He retrieved a Black Furnace from his storage pouch.

This artifact refinement Forge was incredibly sturdy. He had confirmed in the Soul Nurturing Secret Realm that it could withstand attacks from a second-tier restriction.

Li Qing believed that by hiding inside the Black Furnace, he could remain unharmed even if the formation’s attacks reached him.

Once inside the Black Furnace, Li Qing was immediately captivated by the strange patterns etched into its inner walls. These markings resembled tadpoles or flames, making them utterly bizarre and unfamiliar.

”Huh? How did I never notice these strange runes inside the Black Furnace before?”

Curious, Li Qing traced the tadpole-like runes on the inner wall, but he couldn’t decipher their meaning. He had never seen anything like them.

Because the furnace was black, it was difficult to see these strange runes with the naked eye from the outside. Only by climbing inside could one truly appreciate their existence. Of course, few people would ever think to climb inside a Forge like Li Qing had.

Unfortunately, after observing for a long time, Li Qing found nothing extraordinary about the runes.

These runes were like the Black Furnace itself—utterly devoid of spirituality, best described in four words: deathly still and silent.

After confirming there was nothing special about them, Li Qing retreated into the Black Furnace, clutching two spirit stones as he began to replenish his spiritual energy.

As Li Qing hid within the furnace, a graceful figure, holding a compass in her hand, drifted in on a divine rainbow at the edge of the mountain gorge.

”Hmm? The Celestial Compass has failed?”

This woman was Su Xin, who had been pursuing Li Qing all the way from Maple Country. Her willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed slightly as she examined the bronze compass in her hand.

The bronze needle on the compass was spinning erratically, rotating clockwise and counterclockwise without any discernible pattern, making it impossible to determine direction.

”Could it be the formation laid here, disrupting the terrain and interfering with the divination of heaven’s will?” Su Xin murmured softly, slowly retracting the useless Celestial Compass.

”The last direction it pointed to was this mountain gorge. Could he be hiding within this gorge, shrouded by the formation, causing the Celestial Compass to malfunction?”

”A Second-Tier formation—this is no small feat. Judging by its structure, it seems to be a one-way trap, designed to contain something?”

”Once trapped inside, one would face considerable trouble.”

As a Foundation Establishment Elder of the Heavenly River Sect, Su Xin possessed broad knowledge. With just a few words, she recognized the purpose and ingenuity of the formation.

She stroked her chin, pondering her next move.

But soon, her brow furrowed slightly again as a clear voice echoed from the other side:

”Hehehe, this immortal maiden’s insight is truly remarkable!”

A middle-aged man in a gray robe slowly flew over, his tone friendly but his gaze wary as he watched Su Xin riding her divine rainbow.

Su Xin, however, showed no alarm. Instead, she calmly looked at this fellow Foundation Establishment cultivator and said softly, ”Fellow Daoist, please forgive me. I was passing through and, seeing this formation, my curiosity piqued, so I came to investigate. I meant no harm!”

The gray-robed man laughed heartily. ”Hahahaha, curiosity is only natural. The Lu Clan isn’t some overbearing clan that would fault you for such a thing!”

”However, this immortal maiden seems rather unfamiliar. I, Lu Feiyu, pride myself on having a wide circle of friends. I’ve heard of all the Foundation Establishment cultivators in this area, but I don’t recall when we gained such a breathtakingly beautiful Foundation Establishment Daoist companion.”

In response to Lu Feiyu’s probing, Su Xin smiled calmly and replied, ”I haven’t been in Foundation Establishment for long, and I just emerged from seclusion recently. It’s natural that Fellow Daoist Lu doesn’t recognize me.”

Her answer was flawless, but as the head of the Lu Clan, Lu Feiyu wasn’t easily convinced.

He couldn’t discern the origins or depth of this beautiful Foundation Establishment female cultivator, and a hint of wariness crept into his heart. He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, realizing that this scheme was bound to involve some unpredictable factors.

”Fellow Daoist Lu, there’s no need to worry. Since I know this formation was set up by you, I won’t pry further. I’ll take my leave now!” Su Xin said politely.

With her words, she turned her graceful figure and rode a divine rainbow into the sky, drifting away like a feather.

Lu Feiyu watched her depart with a furrowed brow. Only after her figure had vanished did his expression relax slightly.

He quickly flew over to the Lu Clan disciples who were maintaining the formation and said sternly, ”Everyone, be on your guard. There might be some unexpected developments during this Demon beast hunt.”

One of them asked, puzzled, ”Clan Head, what’s happened?”

Lu Feiyu lowered his voice. ”Just now, an unfamiliar Foundation Establishment cultivator appeared. Although she’s left, there’s no guarantee she won’t return when the Demon beast shows up.”

”How could this be? Which cultivator in this area would dare to disrespect the Lu Clan? Why would they interfere with our operation?”

”In any case, be careful!” Lu Feiyu shook his head. He never believed that the Lu Clan’s name alone could intimidate a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

This matter involved the Crystal Core of a Second-Tier Demonic Beast, the primary ingredient for refining Foundation Establishment Pills.

Wealth stirs the heart, and in the face of absolute profit, human nature is the least trustworthy thing.

Forget the unfamiliar Foundation Establishment cultivator from just now; even those with some acquaintance with him might show up later.

”Maintain the formation’s operation. Wait for the mortals to signal, then follow my instructions!”

Meanwhile, Su Xin, who had pretended to leave the mountain ravine, hadn’t gone far. She remained hidden in the forest on the opposite side, as if waiting for something.

Soon, a pristine, fluffy Snow Charm Fox appeared in the forest, racing toward her.

Su Xin lowered herself, cradling the fox in her arms, and closed her eyes to listen.

”So they’re after a Second-Tier Demonic Beast... No wonder they went to such lengths, even setting up a Second-Tier Grand Formation.”

After speaking, Su Xin’s beautiful eyes sparkled as if she were deep in thought.

”If we wait until the demon-hunting is over, Li Qing will probably have fully recovered his spiritual energy. When he activates the Serpent-Head Spirit Boat, I doubt we’ll be able to catch him.”

”Now that this formation is in place, though it’s a nuisance for me, it has completely blocked his escape route. Perhaps we should seize this opportunity...”

As she spoke, Su Xin retrieved a torn piece of cloth from her storage pouch. It was a fragment ripped from Li Qing’s robes, still bearing an arrow hole.

”Since the Celestial Compass is useless, we’ll have to rely on this simple method to determine his location.”

Su Xin held the cloth fragment before the Snow Charm Fox’s nose, allowing the demon beast to sniff it thoroughly.

The Snow Charm Fox soon raised its head, and after a moment, nodded at Su Xin.

”Indeed, he’s inside. It seems I have no choice but to enter.”

Su Xin sighed, then retracted the Snow Charm Fox and hurried toward another part of the mountain gorge.

This area was still shrouded by the formation, a one-way trap with no exit. Any attempt to force entry would surely be detected.

But since Su Xin dared to make this decision, she clearly had a trump card.

She produced a wooden frame shaped like a celestial ladder, its surface covered in intricate dao marks!

In the next moment, Su Xin activated the ladder, causing the dao marks to glow with radiant light.

At the end of the Cloud-Crossing Ladder, a beam of light unexpectedly extended, piercing through the formation and reaching directly into the mountain gorge!

”Fortunately, this is just a temporary formation with many flaws. If he had time to refine it and plug the gaps, even with the Cloud-Crossing Ladder, he couldn’t have slipped in unnoticed.”

As she spoke, Su Xin walked along the light ladder extending from the Cloud-Crossing Ladder, silently passing through the formation without alerting anyone.

Once inside, she beckoned with her hand, and the Cloud-Crossing Ladder flew back into her grasp.

After entering the wild forest of the mountain gorge, Su Xin released the Snow Charm Fox from her embrace and instructed it to search for Li Qing’s trail.

Back in the formation, Li Qing, still inside the Black Furnace, had nearly recovered his spiritual energy.

He slowly opened his eyes and peered out of the Forge, then unleashed his divine sense to search for the mortals he had encountered just now.

But the next moment, a world-shaking roar echoed from deep within the gorge.

”Roar!”

Following the roar, a blinding crimson light erupted, drawing all eyes.

It was clear that the mortals who had ventured deeper into the gorge had discovered the Demon beast’s trail and immediately sent out a signal.

(End of the Chapter)

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